January 30, 2008
Your Soul Food Lovers' Newsletter
February is Black History Month - Let‘s Celebrate Together! Black History Month Edition
Volume #016
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Welcome New Friends
What’s Coming Up !
Feature Article: Black History and Soul Food
Top Black History Month Quotations
Soul Food Column
Cassandra’s Cooking Tips for Black History Month
Soul Food Care Package
Soul Food Resource Center (New)
Link to Your Gift: New Trends in Soul Food Cooking
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WELCOME NEW FRIENDS
Hey Soul Food Lovers! Thank you for joining us. We invite you to send comments, suggestions, and ideas on what you would like to see in this newsletter.
Please feel free to take our reader’s poll. This poll gives us insight into the kind of information you want to see in this newsletter. So please take some time from your busy schedule to let us know what you want us to cover. No need to include your name. Visit the new Soul Food Resource Center (in this newsletter) for the Reader’s Poll link.
Also, if you have recipes or cooking stories from the kitchen you want to share, please feel free to do so. Send them directly to me at Cassandra@soul-food-advisor.com.
Again, welcome, sit back, relax, and enjoy this newsletter.
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WHAT’S COMING UP! -
Check out my black history month section on soul food advisor. There you’ll find great articles, popular methods of cooking during slavery, a tribute to soul food cuisine, menus, recipes, and a lot more. Black History Section
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BOOK SIGNING IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Join me on Saturday, February 23rd at 1:00 pm when the Bordeaux Library in Nashville will host a book signing featuring Soul Food Lovers’ Cookbook. If you live in the Nashville area or close by, please stop by to say hello. I would love to meet you. I plan to prepare dishes from the cookbook for everyone to sample. So, if you can, plan to attend.
For more information, follow this link: Nashville Public Library
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CALL FOR YOUR FAVORITE SOUL FOOD MEAL?
During Black History month I would like to feature your favorite meal. Please send me your favorite Black History meal to include in my blog.
If you have Black History recipes you want to share please send them too. Just include your favorite menu, along with your first name and the state you’re from. I will post your menus and recipes all next month in my blog on Soul Food Advisor.
The best black history recipe will receive a free copy of my new cookbook, Soul Food Lovers'. So send your menus and recipes in today! Send to Cassandra@soul-food-advisor.com
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LIFT EVERY VOICE AND VOTE
Don’t forget about Super Tuesday. Vote for change in the presidential primary February 5, 2008. Encourage family and friends to do the same. Make your voice be heard!
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FEATURE ARTICLE-
Black History and Soul Food
By Cassandra Harrell
Each year for Black History month, I give a special tribute to soul food cuisine. Last year I wrote an article on soul food advisor on the Black History page about the extraordinary role soul food has played in American history and the strong roots it continue to carry throughout our lives. Some understand the history quite well, while others just know that Black History and soul food go hand in hand.
I feel that it’s important to share the story of soul food cuisine with our children and families so they can understand the true meaning of Black history and how soul food comes in to play.
Many people shy away from talking about soul food and want to forget about the cruel period of slavery, but unfortunately slavery is a part of our history and we just can‘t forget about it and really shouldn’t want to. The struggles during slavery just shows the strength and endurance of the African American race.
If our ancestors had not scarified, there wouldn’t be soul food cuisine today. That’s why it’s important to give honor to our ancestors for their extraordinary creation of soul food.
Please read “A Tribute to Soul Food Cuisine on Soul Food Advisor on the Black History page. It’s a lot of history there and I want to share it will everyone.
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- SPECIAL TO NEWSLETTER: TOP BLACK HISTORY MONTH QUOTATIONS
Motivational quotes from Black leaders.
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the
dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.
-- Maya Angelou "Still I rise," And Still I Rise (1978)
Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.
-- Arthur Ashe quoted in Sports Illustrated
Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice.
-- Ray Charles
The past is a ghost, the future a dream. All we ever have is now.
-- Bill Cosby
Greatness occurs when your children love you, when your critics respect you and when you have peace of mind.
-- Quincy Jones
Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power.
-- Barbara Jordan
I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear.
-- Rosa Parks
Have a vision. Be demanding.
-- Colin Powell
God gives nothing to those who keep their arms crossed.
-- African Proverb
Freedom is never given; it is won.
-- A. Philip Randolph in keynote speech given at the Second National Negro Congress in 1937
Quotes taken from www.chiff.com
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SOUL FOOD COLUMN - This month we focus on CREOLE SEASONING
Creole Seasoning
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana (centered on the Greater New Orleans area) that blends French, Spanish, French Caribbean, African, and American influences. It also bears hallmarks of Italian cuisine.
It is vaguely similar to Cajun cuisine in ingredients (such as the holy trinity), but the important distinction is that Cajun cuisine arose from the more rustic, provincial French cooking adapted by the Acadians to Louisiana ingredients, whereas the cooking of the Louisiana Creoles tended more toward classical European styles adapted to local foodstuffs.
The Louisiana Creole or Cajun trinity is chopped celery, bell peppers, and onions Louisiana Creoles dishes include but not limited to crawfish gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, chicken Creole, dirty rice, and shrimp and oyster to name a few.
With the rise of Modern American Cooking in the 1980s, a New Creole (or Nouvelle Creole) strain began to emerge. This movement is characterized in part by a renewed emphasis on fresh ingredients and lighter preparations, and in part by an outreach to other culinary traditions, including Cajun, Southern, Southwestern, and to a lesser degree Southeast Asian. Modern Creole has remained as a predominant force in most major New Orleans restaurants.
With upcoming Black History Month, we focus on Creole Recipes.
CREOLE SEASONING BLEND
¼ cup salt
3 T. granulated garlic or garlic powder
3T black pepper
1T paprika
¼ cup chili powder
2 T dried basil
Cayenne pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Store in a sealed container.
CREOLE GUMBO
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin
8 chicken thighs
1 white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1 pound Creole smoked sausage
2 1/2 cups water
1 pound shrimp
2 tablespoons Cajun-style seasoning
Boil chicken breasts and thighs with onion and bell pepper in a large pot of salted water, for about 40 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Drain, debone chicken and set aside.
In a large saucepan stir together flour and butter over low heat to make a roux; add boiled chicken, sausage and water and bring all to a boil. Cover saucepan and simmer over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours.
Add shrimp and simmer for about a half hour, then add seasoning to taste and serve.
CREOLE RICE
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cooked long-grain rice
In a saucepan, melt butter; add Creole seasoning and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir in rice. Cover and heat through.
SPICED CREOLE CHICKEN
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 cup skim milk
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow plate or bowl, mix together the flour and at least 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (more if you really like the zip of Cajun seasoning!). Pour milk for dipping into a bowl and dip the chicken breasts into it.
Dredge the chicken through the flour and seasoning mixture, coating evenly on both sides and around the edges.
Place the chicken breasts in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until done.
CREOLE PINEAPPLE SALAD
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup prepared mustard
4 teaspoons sweet relish
2 (16 ounce) cans pineapple chunks
1 teaspoon Cajun pepper
2 pounds iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 cup bay leaves
In a small mixing bowl, stir together mayonnaise, mustard, and relish. Mix well until it becomes a nice pastel color. In a separate bowl, stir together pineapple and Cajun pepper.
Place shredded lettuce into a large bowl. Pour pineapple mixture on top of the lettuce. Place bay leaves as a garnish around the edge of the bowl. Drizzle dressing lightly over the salad.
CASSANDRA’S COOKING TIPS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH
· Make sure hot items stay hot by heating them last or using chafing dishes.
· When planning your menu, choose a variety of colors and textures to group together.
· Plan your menu in advance and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables close to your serving date.
· Plan to include reduced fat or low fat foods on your buffet.
· Offer a variety of foods for all appetites and make sure you have plenty for your guests.
Watch for more exciting cooking tips!
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SOUL FOOD CARE PACKAGE
Newsletter Subscribers receive an automatic entry into our monthly contest for a chance to win a Soul Food Care Package. This package is loaded with soul food goodies, cooking gadgets, soul food recipes, cooking tips, and a personalized letter from me---Your Soul Food Advisor. So please tell everyone about this offer. Good Luck!
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SOUL FOOD RESOURCE CENTER
Make sure you check out our Resource Center. A wealth of information at your fingertips.
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LINK TO YOUR GIFT
As promised, here is your gift for subscribing - New Trends in Soul Food cooking. The report is password protected. The password is ????????????.
Just click the link below; then enter password. Enter password exactly as listed. New Food Trend
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UNTIL NEXT TIME
Cassandra Harrell is an avid soul food lover and the author of the new Soul Food Lovers’ Cookbook with 250 easy-to-follow soul food and southern recipes from three generations of Southern cooks. Throughout the cookbook you’re find helpful cooking tips and fun recipe stories about the dish.
Cassandra Harrell
Editor & Soul Food Advisor
(c) copyright 2007
Soul Food Advisor